Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to airports, and more specifically, an integrated, multi-level airport terminal system and method for improving airline passenger and cargo transit operations.
Description of Related Art
The aviation industry is extremely dynamic and competitive. As the globalization of business and trade continues to grow, air travel is increasingly paramount for the development of our global economy. However, despite the progressive demand, innovative designs and operational protocols of today's airports have been unable to rise to the most difficult of the airline passenger challenges, that of increasing capacity. No matter which airport one arrives or departs from, present-day airports are becoming overwhelmingly crowded due to numerous factors. In fact, with the current pace of travel, many airports around the world are expected to exceed their maximum capacity within the next five years. As such, airports with capacity limitations are undoubtedly causing drastic inefficiencies, which are detrimentally affecting our global economy.
The current infrastructure and operations of airports causes delayed flights, along with weather. Statistics at one Brazilian airport indicates that just 41 percent of all flights leave on time, and only 59 percent of flight arrive on schedule. A delayed flight has the potential to cost millions of dollars to businesses, as the flights arrival is also delayed, due to slot availability, not to mention the valuable time wasted during an extended travel schedule. Specifically, a delayed flight impacts passengers by having them negotiate through various security checkpoints, relocating gate changes and the associated reissuing of boarding passes. There are bottlenecks of people everywhere, within the airport terminal, the tunnels between terminals, at every security checkpoint, and baggage claim areas. Not surprisingly, it turns out that airport operations are not always in sync with passengers, airport authorities and airline activities, especially as the flight departure delays in one country's airport system average 54.2 minutes across ten airlines in 2014. The fact that passengers are routinely forced to suffer in deadlocked security lines, unannounced gate changes, “last call” announcements, and ultimately, flights not leaving as scheduled or cancelled altogether, as in the case of one airport system where the average of two percent represented 44,094 cancelled flights in 2014, is simply unacceptable.
An airport terminal system is one of the key elements within the airport's overall environment. The relationship of the airport terminal to the airport is similar to one that commercial buildings have with a modern-day city. Specifically, airport terminals include complex operations between airlines, airport authorities, and passengers. Growing inefficiency caused by growing capacity (World passenger traffic increased by 6.1 percent in 2015 according to Airports Council International ACI) impacts operations and highlights antiquated methodologies causing more and more passengers to become regularly frustrated. Even the most formidable, sophisticated airport hubs like Heathrow Airport in London are experiencing severe congestion and flight delays. Passengers at Heathrow are required to traverse unreasonable distances between concourses, ticket controls, customs and immigration, public transportation and security lines. The growth of other megacities like New York, New Delhi and Beijing are also encountering similar airport challenges.
Furthermore, the aviation industry trend suggests that more and more airline companies are looking to increase the size of aircraft to include more amenities for passengers and provide non-stop flights for high traffic, high volume international destinations. Accordingly, Airbus®, the European aircraft company has been manufacturing the A380, a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner at a steady rate. It is the world's largest passenger airliner. Airlines like Qantas® and Emirates® are making significant investments to make the A380 a flagship of their respective fleets. However, despite the continuing demand, major airport hubs around the world have provided minimal infrastructure to accommodate the large wide body aircraft.
The issue for larger aircraft apart from their size, is the restrictive airport taxing space and terminal ramp space. At most of the world's larger airports, provisioning space to accommodate the A380 has been inhibited by, the legacy designs themselves, and delayed investment decision making. Accordingly, in order to smooth the process of enplaning and deplaning the aircraft, Airbus® strategically provided multiple access doors for both lower and upper cabins. On reflection, enplaning/deplaning the 69 passengers on the upper deck of the Boeing B747-300 (1983) was via a staircase, as only emergency doors existed for the flight crew at that level. Moreover, even if the airport itself is built to take on the double deck aircraft, the process of ticketing, checking luggage and security screening of so many people can be a logistical nightmare for current airport terminal operations since the larger wide body aircraft are positioned at the end of a pier or satellite building, away from all central services.
Larger aircraft like the A380 are also primarily designed to serve international flights. As such, if weather or scheduling problems were to force two or more A380s to arrive somewhere at the same time, airports estimate that current standards in airport terminal operations could take hours for every passenger to be processed and connect with their luggage. Similar problems were also encountered, when the Boeing® B747 was first introduced in 1969. Comparatively, the A380's introduction fared better in 2007.
Therefore, in order to alleviate the aforesaid issues, a number of airport systems and their related methods have been developed to improve airports, and more importantly, solve outstanding problems related to airport terminal operations, infrastructure, and integration. One such airport system is a multilevel aircraft infrastructure having a separate aircraft landing and takeoff runway strips with passenger and cargo movement facilities as a single, consolidated building. Specifically, the airport system incorporates a landing strip on the roof of the structure, an elevator to physically transport the aircraft to lower levels for passenger boarding, maintenance, and fueling operations. However, this airport system is not sufficiently integrated to improve airport operations. Specifically, aircraft elevators are impractical for commercial aviation facilities. The airport system also increases problems related to airline and passenger safety, increases delays in flight times and increases costs by, requiring complete transformation of current airports, and additional machinery and devices. Accordingly, the airport system has many impractical features that do not solve issues related to integration of aviation operations born by the current legacy designs of airport terminals.
Another airport system includes a covered construction featuring elongated runways with walls, positioned next to each other with adjacent taxiways and loading docks. The runways are positioned over the airport terminal with other portions of the airport. However, the closely positioned runways in relation to portions of the airport terminal buildings vastly threatens aircraft and passenger safety. Specifically, having closely positioned runways on top of airport facilities will promote aircraft related accidents. The airport system also fails to relieve issues related to airport operations, integration of airport terminal facilities and passenger/aircraft congestion. Accordingly, the airport system has many impractical features that do not solve issues related to integration of aviation operations.
Another airport terminal includes a radial shaped structure having subterranean levels. Although this airport terminal includes subterranean levels, it has means for elevating an aircraft in between the levels via a lift sled. Having a lift to elevate an aircraft within the aviation system is impractical. Moving an expensive aircraft containing numerous passengers involves unnecessary movements. This can easily prove to be a major safety hazard to aircraft and passengers alike. Specifically, the lift can easily malfunction or completely stop working, causing delays and passenger paranoia. Passengers could be stuck in the aircraft for hours. Furthermore, having to physically move a multi ton, multi million-dollar aircraft via a lift can be highly arduous, expensive, and would require drastic changes to airports worldwide. Essentially, this airport system has many impractical features that do not solve issues related to integration of airport operations.
Yet another airport system is disclosed, which comprises passenger areas and hangar areas in a multi-level building. While this system has multi-levels by having hangar areas adjoining the passenger areas, the system does not disclose how aircraft would be effectively moved into the hangars. Specifically, the airport system does not disclose sequencing of plurality of aircraft directly within the airport terminal building itself. As such, aircraft would have to be stored in the hangar in no particular order or orientation. Having to store multiple commercial aircraft of large dimensions in the hangar facilities would also require acres of additional space. Furthermore, the aircraft have to be stored in separate hangar areas, wherein the passengers do not have direct access to the aircraft for enplaning and deplaning purposes. The hangar areas require a portal, which provides access for aircraft from an apron outside the airport building, not within it. Accordingly, the airport system has many impractical features that do not solve issues related to integration of airport operations, beyond today's experience.
There is yet another airport system which comprises an “aeroplane” hangar with multiple stalls connecting to a central space. However, the hangar is a stand-alone single level structure, not a multi-level structure promoting integration of airport operations. The structure further requires the fuselage of the aircraft be moved into the central space for major repairs, and not within the same building. Accordingly, the airport system has many impractical features that do not solve issues related to integration of airport operations.
Therefore, the aviation industry is in a dire need of an integrated, multi-level airport terminal system, and method to help eliminate current issues, improve operations, lower costs, increase profits, alleviate congestion, promote safety and security, and meet the future demands of aircraft frequency. If an integrated, multi-level airport terminal system were developed, it would be structured in a manner which overcomes issues and/or disadvantages of the type set forth above or otherwise known to still exist in this field of art. Accordingly, if such an integrated, multi-level airport terminal system and method were to be developed, it would facilitate seamless integration of airport operations without the need of additional expensive devices or drastic restructuring of the status quo. Ideally, if such an integrated, multi-level airport terminal system and method were to be developed, it would incorporate structural and operational features, which would facilitate effective taxiing, routing, accommodation, enplaning/deplaning and servicing of aircraft of any size, including, but not limited to the larger sized, 600-plus commercial passenger aircraft. Essentially, if such an integrated, multi-level airport terminal system and method were to be developed, it would incorporate structural and operative features, which would facilitate improvement in landside, airside, and transportation systems in and out of airports. Finally, any such integrated, multi-level airport terminal system and method, if developed, would also be preferably structurally and operably reliable, while still remaining cost effective to implement, in order to facilitate widespread use and acceptance throughout the aviation industry worldwide.